


A Picnic Lunch with Solomon

by MissNatty



Series: Demon Charmer [2]
Category: Shall We Date?: Obey Me!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Blood and Injury, F/M, Hypnotism, Original Character(s), Picnics, Psychological Torture, Punishment, Secrets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:15:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28746792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissNatty/pseuds/MissNatty
Summary: Chapter 2Lucifer and the demon charmer return from their meeting with Lord Diavolo.Solomon takes the demon charmer out for their first independent study session. He reflects on what brought this training together, but also takes advantage of the time alone with her.Demon charmer attends her first council meeting in her new position.Lucifer expresses his displeasure with demon charmer's recent choices.A deeper look at Barbatos involvement from the shadows.Lucifer finds a way to gently scold Solomon against flirting with demon charmer.Passage Includes:"Barbatos' Great Secret""Lucifer Delivers a Warning to Solomon"
Series: Demon Charmer [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1923148
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	A Picnic Lunch with Solomon

**Author's Note:**

> First, a huge thank you to anyone that checked out the first and third chapter so long ago when I first published them. I genuinely intended to get this piece posted sooner.
> 
> Please do not hesitate to reach out if you find any continuity errors between the chapters. I only had about a third of this chapter done when chapter three was posted.

Their return to the House of Lamentation was met with excitement all around. Asmo had burst forward from the house as soon as the car pulled up in their drive. Behind the tinted windows, there was little to be seen inside the back seat, so he began to impatiently tap on the side of the car door.

“What did she say, how come we can’t see her back there with you? Luu-cifeeer!”

Lucifer placed one last kiss on her lips before he spoke, “This is your last chance to allow me to take you away. One last chance for you to be mine, and mine alone.”

She laughed in response, but gave a soft nuzzle to his nose, “I thought you promised Lord Diavolo that you were going to try and share?”

“I promised to try. You may be worth accepting failure, if I could keep you as my own.”

Lucifer finally began to release her and pull his wings in. The rush of coolness brought sharp focus to everything around her. Asmo started pounding more insistently on the side of the door as he finally caught the sight of her light from inside the vehicle. 

“Does that mean she’s going to stay? Oh please say it does!” His patting on the door came to a sudden stop and they both looked up just in time to see Beel plucking him up off the ground by the back of his jacket.

They shared a laugh as Lucifer finally reached to open the door and let her out. She smiled as she exited the car. Asmo was flailing in Beel’s grasp. Levi, Satan, and Belphegor were just beginning to descend the steps. Mammon stood at the door, leaning back against the frame with his arms crossed. 

“Looks like I get to stay!” She beamed brightly. 

Beelzebub promptly dropped Asmodeus in the dirt and scooped her into a warm hug. Levi and Belphegor were all too happy to join in as well as Lucifer stepped out of the car. Even Mammon stood upright with a spark of excitement at this news. 

Lucifer waved the car off as he stepped over to the conglomerate of family she had wrapped around her. Asmo had gotten up and was frustratedly brushing himself off. He turned and punched Beel in the shoulder, immediately regretting the action. 

They all took a moment to laugh over this. Beel then shook his other brothers off his arms and deposited her back onto the ground. Lucifer motioned for everyone to begin returning to the house, leaving her and Beelzebub a few paces behind them. 

Beel turned to her, “I am really sorry about this morning. Lucifer had warned us, and I even got a second warning from Barbatos. I was really nervous that you would decide not to stay once you realized what had happened. I really thought I was going to lose you.”

“Beel, that was as much my fault as it was yours. I’m grown enough to behave, but I wanted it just as badly as you did. At least I know what to expect next time.” She gave him a broad smile and a wink as she dashed up the stairs. Her words had stopped him cold mid-step. 

She was going to be given two weeks to adjust to life back at RAD before she would be allowed to go on dates with the brothers. She would be assisting Lucifer with council business every day after her main classes and she would be given Monday and Thursday afternoons off for her training with Solomon. 

She was happy that her initial return with Solomon had occurred on a Thursday. It had afforded her the chance to rest over the weekend after the intensity of her first day back. She had been surprised how exhausted she was the following day. Beelzebub’s appetite managed to return to him, in force, by Saturday night. 

As Monday came, she was finally beginning to feel like herself again. She knew she would have a very long day ahead of her. Even if she only had a couple classes that morning, she would be meeting with Solomon, and she would have to start assisting Lucifer with whatever council business he may have lined up for her.

Solomon had asked to meet her in the RAD courtyard. She made sure to bring the books he had sent with her when they had first returned to the human world. She felt bad, she had not found time to even look the books over since she had returned to the human world. 

“There you are lovely!” He beamed at her over a basket. “I’ve packed us a picnic. I figured we could go for a walk along the water and chat for a bit about how we’re going to conduct this training that Diavolo wants for you. Did he tell you he had Barbatos prepare a file for me?”

Yet again she was brought a small chill at hearing about how information was being shared around about her. She would love to know what was in the files that were constantly being mentioned. A knot tied up her stomach, she couldn’t even fathom how much Barbatos actually knew about her to have prepared individual files for everyone. 

Solomon carried the basket on his left arm as he scooped her up close to him by the waist to lead her away. His eye flashed over his shoulder as he did this, just in time to catch Satan and Mammon scowling at him. 

It had not even been two months since their return to the human world when Solomon was contacted by Diavolo. While the first few messages were plain enough, asking how he was adjusting to life back in the human world, Diavolo wasted little time revealing his true intent for contacting Solomon that day. 

Diavolo had been distressed when a single tear had formed on Lucifer’s eye when he had asked for details about his most recent conversation with their human guest. He had warned the brothers to limit the amount of time they were taking from her life now that she had been sent back to the human world. He never expected the brothers to have such strong emotional responses to a single human. Least of all Lucifer.

Solomon admitted that his studies had prevented him from keeping in contact with his human counterpart. Though, having her brought up in this manner, he could not help but find his curiosity piqued. He had expected this type of inquiry from Asmodeus, but never directly from the demon lord.

“How do you feel about taking her on as an apprentice? I’ve taken the liberty of having her reclassified as a white witch. And, I’m willing to allow whatever time you feel would be necessary for an independent study course of this nature.”

As the shock of the initial request was still processing, he could not help but enjoy the rush of power that came with such an offer. He had often expected that she would destabilize the balance of power, but he had never expected to be asked to be part of helping her do that. 

“I’m willing to take her on, but I’ll have some conditions. If you want me to lead her in independent study, I’ll want two full afternoons, four hour blocks, on non-sequential days. I think that Mondays and Thursdays would work best. I also want your promise that I will have the leniency to train her in my own manner and without interference from Lucifer or his brothers. Lastly, I want to know that there will be no backlash if I can’t draw any active power out of her.”

“If that is all you require, I’ll allow it. See only that no harm comes to her while training. Also, if you attempt to charm her, I will make no effort to stay the brothers from exacting vengeance against you.”

“You have my word, Lord Diavolo. Lucifer’s treasure will be well tended and fully respected.”

“It’s a deal then. Please take some time over the next few months to prepare your lessons. I will contact you with the means to retrieve her and return to the Devildom. Let me know if you encounter any questions or concerns in the meantime.”

Lucifer and his brothers would be heavily monitored on their dates with her; but Solomon was going to be able to spend two full afternoons each week with their treasure in near solitude. He still saw this as a small gift for his agreement in even attempting to draw active power out of her. Even if the sessions failed to yield results, he was still graced with the pleasure of her company, and there were so many potential training methods he could implore upon her. 

He had already scouted out a secluded spot for them to take up their picnic. It was set slightly back from the water but also had shrubbery and trees on several sides to allow some privacy as well. Asmo had once treated him to this same date, though he could only hope that his chances with Lucifer’s treasure would end better than Asmo’s advances had. 

“I certainly can’t expect you to focus without accommodations.” He beamed a smile to her as he conjured out a set of pillows for them to sit on while eating their lunch. “I got us each a bento box lunch from Hell’s Kitchen.”

She finally spoke up as he passed the small box over to her. “Solomon, I’m really sorry. I haven’t had any time to look at the books you sent with me.”

He replied with a hearty laugh, “That will probably make this easier then. I won’t have to ask a lot about what you’ve read and what you may have tried. Diavolo now has you classified as a white witch. So, even if you don’t show any active power, it still fits your title.”

She curled her lip over at him, “See, I don’t even know what that means. I saw that update on my new student file. I was going to ask Lucifer about it this afternoon before the council meeting.”

“Well, lovely, that really just means that you’re the kind of witch that doesn’t use magic to hurt someone. There isn’t a lot more to it than that. You can barely wield the power of your pacts with the brothers, but even so, you’re not using that power against anyone. You’ve actually gone above and beyond to heal Lucifer’s family.”

She averted her eyes from Solomon. “Oh, well I do suppose that makes sense. Thank you for the explanation. I wonder what your classification is.”

“You already know that, lovely. I’m a sorcerer. And not to brag too much, but in these parts I’m practically a celebrity.” 

He took this moment to move a bit closer to her. She flashed him a defiant smile as she continued to enjoy her lunch. 

“Solomon, you do not need to be so wicked toward me.” She could feel the heat of a blush coming to her cheeks as she tried to steady her voice. 

“You should realize, heightened emotional states have been known to be great catalysts in magical development.” 

He moved even closer, now easily within arm’s reach of her. “Is it really so wrong that I see the same beauty in you that the demons do? Maybe a better beauty, because I can see you as a human?”

She finally turned her eyes up to him. Her heart began to race as their eyes connected. He was more attractive than she wanted to admit. The silver in his hair shimmered in the midday moonlight. 

“Solomon, you are supposed to be teaching me to use magic. You can understand how upset it would make Lucifer if anything were to happen between you and I. He’s bitter enough that I am dating his brothers.”

He gave her a sly smile, “The purity of your resolve only adds to your attractiveness, lovely. I can only hope that I do not disappoint you with my inability to contain my attraction to you.”

They made quick work of the remainder of their lunches and Solomon packed the bentos into the basket he had brought along. He caught her eye again and she felt her heart begin to flutter. Solomon held her gaze and she again found herself unable to deny how attractive he was in this moment. 

She could feel a slow relaxation washing over her as she tried to discern what thoughts were floating behind his ever knowing eyes. Just then, Solomon then reached out to run his finger along the side of her face, but stopped short. Her heart began to pound in her throat as she watched him. As his fingertips stopped short of touching her, her breathing began to quicken. 

“You may be immune to Asmo’s charms, yet here you are lost in a bit of hypnosis. I’m sorry, lovely. I just had to see you with that look on your face.” 

His thumb finally brushed the tip of her chin. She began to tremble at this, her breath catching in her chest. 

“Most young witches would have already caved under this little bit of pressure. I’m happy to see some resolve in you, even if it may only be bits of Lucifer’s pride left in you.”

She tried to speak but nothing would come out. He smiled again, “Mmm, that look of pure wanton desire is really what I was after for today. Though, I wonder if you can even see me anymore. Is it Lucifer that you believe to be in front of you? Mmm, or maybe one of the other brothers?”

She swallowed hard against everything he had said and forced the words to her mouth, “Solomon, I have no need to show you that I don’t want to kiss you. Now, can we do some actual practice?”

His laugh broke the spell and the tightness in her chest finally began to relax. Her hand went up to clutch her heart as she balled up a fist to strike him square in the chest. He caught her hand and lowered his eyes on her in thoughtful appraisal. 

“You’re still trembling like a leaf, lovely. Don’t worry, the next time you turn that look on me there will be no tampering, and I will not hesitate in taking everything you have to offer. I can only hope you will be able to forgive me. I just wanted a taste of what they get to see when your heart flutters for them. You have no idea how encouraging it is that you kept your focus on me the whole time.”

He finally released her hand. The feeling was strangely disappointing. She began to blush, realizing she had enjoyed the feeling of his touch. His hands were warm and gentle. No matter how powerful he was as a sorcerer, he was still human. Allowing herself to relax and enjoy the time she spent with him had to be safer than what she was risking by dating Lucifer and his brothers. 

“Solomon, you are positively wicked! If I didn’t know better, you had no intent to provide me with magical training, you only did this to take me on as many dates as you could.”

Solomon made no effort to refute this accusation. He simply raised his hands, palms up, with a wide smile. He was far more impressed by her resolve than he was willing to admit. Even if she had been recently blessed by Lucifer’s pride, his spell should have broken through. There was also the fact that she was still able to see him despite the charm. If he really wanted his own piece of her heart, this was the best result that he could have asked for.

He had chosen to allow her first few lessons to be very basic items. Identifying elements, directions, and power colors seemed a good place for her to start. He also gave her a small book on runes that he had gotten from another witch friend. 

They returned to the main RAD campus just as the bell sounded to signal the end of the main day. Solomon walked her over to the main campus building. Just before leaving her, he leaned in and deposited a small kiss on her forehead. 

“I really hope you will forgive my rude behavior today, lovely.”

“Please just stop mentioning it already. As long as you keep your promise, then I’ll presume that it’s out of your system. Anyway, I’ve got to get in before they start the meeting without me.”

Solomon offered a laughing response, “I don’t think that will be an issue.” 

It was all he needed to say as he motioned to the top of the steps. Lucifer, Beelzebub, and Belphegor were all standing together. She turned back to offer one last wave to Solomon and then made her way up the steps. He took the moment to enjoy the movement in the pleats of the back of her skirt before leaving toward the library. One thing he now knew from their first session together, even if he wasn’t going to charm her, he would have to get stronger to train her.

The council session was called to order ten minutes later. She took up a seat alongside Lucifer, and took out her laptop to record the meeting notes. 

Diavolo started the meeting by announcing the structural changes that had been agreed upon in the meeting she had with him and Lucifer. Both Belphegor and Mammon looked worried by this news. The next item he announced was the bid for how to set up the dates she had agreed to. 

“I will give you each a week to draft a written proposal for what you would like to do on your dates. You can each now submit a suggestion for how to determine the order that the dates will be carried out in. In that regard, I would like you to work together to find a solution that will make as many of you happy as possible.”

The hot subject of debate then became the order in which she would be allowed to date the brothers. There were a lot of suggestions in this matter, but the only one that could be agreed upon as fair was for the dates to be conducted in the order that she had created the pacts. Mammon, Leviathan, and Satan were the ones who most strongly supported this option.

Lucifer was giving her a warm look, but she already knew that his choices would have involved either keeping her to himself or literally any other situation where he would not be last in line. He would have to settle for keeping her as a secretary, which would still give him the most time alone with her.

Most of them were impressed that she managed to be a faster and more accurate typist than Leviathan. It also helped that she was fully paying attention to the meeting, so all of the notes followed and made sense. 

The file that sat between her and Lucifer grew to a plump thickness as the meeting wore on. It was filled with items that would need review, retype, and action. She had not realized that they were preparing for busy solstice schedules and other seasonal rites that would be coming in. She was brought to a deep awareness of how much she still didn’t know about human world magic. 

She emailed her raw notes to Diavolo and Lucifer immediately following the meeting. Lucifer leaned in and whispered into her ear as they were collecting their items to leave from the main hall. “After supper, we can meet in my study to go over that file and I’ll let you know what items I would like you to take action on.” 

“Yes Sir,” she said softly and nuzzled his nose with her own causing a few snickers to come from across the council chamber where Satan and Diavolo had been talking. 

Satan took advantage of the situation to poke fun at the scene. “Kitten, I have not seen Lucifer that docile since you left. It really is a pleasure to have you back to keep him settled. You’re like the demon equivalent of catnip.”

Diavolo, Mammon, and Leviathan made no effort to withhold laughing at this. Lucifer did catch a slight blush to his cheeks, but was unable to keep from joining in the laugh. 

Their entire walk back to the House of Lamentation from RAD, Asmodeus and Satan peppered her with questions about her independent study with Solomon. She had not wanted to tell them about how he had hypnotized her, but Asmodeus insisted there would only be one thing on Solomon's mind while spending time with her.

“Sweetheart, I’ve seen Solomon seduce much less attractive witches than yourself.” Asmo was laughing, despite the concerned look in his eyes.

“Solomon is well aware that I am off limits. He has a whole school of female demons and succubi to indulge him,” she knew it was a thin excuse but it was all she could bring to her mind.

“So, it’s the forbidden fruit dilemma?” Asmo easily tore through her excuse, so she determined there was nothing more that she would be able to say in her own defense. 

When she turned back to take a look at Lucifer, she could tell by the look on his face that he was already planning numerous ways to punish Solomon for acting out against her.

When they arrived back at the House of Lamentation, Lucifer offered to order supper from Hell’s Kitchen. He called in all the arrangements, but then left to his study. She enjoyed supper with the other brothers, then left to shower before making her way to Lucifer’s study to help with the council work that they had brought from the meeting.

When she entered Lucifer’s study, the stacks of papers that towered on his desk obstructed his view of her, especially since he was hunched over. She spotted the smaller desk directly opposite from the door. It had a computer and smaller stack of paperwork sitting at it. 

He growled from behind the stacks of paperwork as she stepped in, “I was expecting you over an hour ago. You know we have a lot of work to get done.”

She jumped from the harsh tone in his voice. She could feel herself shrinking as her voice cracked in response to him.

“I’m sorry Lucifer. I wanted to get a shower before we started. Well, before Asmodeus uses up all the hot water.”

The word ‘shower’ tore his attention from his paperwork and he sat up to look at her. He never liked excessively casual apparel, but found himself undeniably aroused by seeing her in a set of oversized sweatpants and tank top with an open sweater. She was shaking her head as she walked across the study over to the smaller desk he had prepared for her.

He swiftly stood and made his way around the desk. In a single motion, he took her into his arms and backed her against the bookcase that stood next to the door of the study. She let out a soft shriek of surprise as he did this. 

“Now, now. You may want to keep down, you know my brothers are prone to spoiling our alone time.”

His left hand moved from the small of her back, up to the nape of her neck. He gently flexed his fingers in her wet hair. A shiver ran down her and a soft moan escaped from her lips. Her head tipped up and he leaned in to deposit a gentle kiss on her lips. 

“So, first, you allowed that scummy sorcerer to touch you,” he flexed his fingers again, kissing her again. 

“Then, you have the nerve to say you want to date all of my brothers before you go on a date with me,” his fingers curled just a little tighter in her hair this time, causing a small groan from her. He smiled as he kissed along her jaw. His other hand flexed at the small of her back and pulled her sweater off her shoulders. 

“You know I am the avatar of pride. I don’t like others touching my things. Why do you always put me in the position where I have to remind you that you belong to me?”

After throwing her sweater to the floor, his right hand moved up and squeezed her breast. She let out a small yelp as he did this. His kisses trailed down below her ear and to her neck. His left hand relaxed in her hair. She had begun to breathe heavy as he continued to raise her arousal. 

“And now you have left me waiting for you to come help with the work that you promised. How ever will I punish you so that we do not continue to have these issues going forward, my pet? I’ll also have to punish your dear sorcerer. Perhaps, for each cry you make, he’ll owe one of equal or greater value? Then you can’t accuse me of not being fair.”

As he said this his right hand moved from her breast down her body. She gasped as she felt the soft leather of his gloves on her exposed midriff. Her stomach pulled in and his fingers slipped easily into the waistband of her pants. 

The heel of her left hand dug into his shoulder as she tensed slightly, she swallowed and breathlessly spoke, “Lucifer, you’re going to ruin your gloves if you continue with what you’re thinking of doing.”

His left hand flexed in her hair as the fingers of his right hand worked their way down between her legs, “That’ll be another thing I’ll have to punish you for then.”

She moaned as his fingers slid along her moistened lips. He applied a bit of light pressure with one finger and began to run it in small circles at the top of her slit. He began to nibble on her neck causing her to moan loudly. 

“Even with my gloves on, I can tell how much you are enjoying this, my pet.” He ran his tongue along her neck as he changed the movement in his left hand to allow his finger to run lengthwise along her wet lips. She began to tremble in his grasp. 

All together he took a firm hold of her hair with his left hand and slipped two fingers from his right hand deep inside of her. While he did this, he bit down into her neck at the base of her shoulders. She let out a shriek as an intense orgasm took hold. Her whole body began to shake as his fingers worked in and out of her. 

He leaned back and relaxed the hold he had on her hair as he watched her, powerless to stop him from making her orgasm. He leaned in and gave her a deep passionate kiss as he continued to work his fingers in and out of her. 

He leaned in to whisper in her ear, “That was quite a nice little shriek.You know how much I’ve always enjoyed your voice. I’ll enjoy making Solomon scream at least that loudly. Maybe you can give me one more.” 

He tightened his grip in her hair once more and bit into her neck again. This time he bit her higher up, right under her ear. As he did all this he rotated his fingers with a snap of his wrist as he worked his fingers into her. She cried out as she began to shake from the intense pleasure. 

She cried out again as he worked his fingers out and back into her again with the additional twist. She could feel her wetness already down to the middle of her thighs. Her body shook violently as the waves of pleasure washed over her. Once more his fingers slid out and then back inside of her, another cry. 

“Really Lucifer?” Asmo’s voice came sternly through the open door of the study. “If any of us had gotten that loud with her, you’d come swooping in like death incarnate. Even Levi heard that last one over his headphones. Give the poor girl a break.”

Lucifer smiled as he pressed his forehead to hers. He gave the fingers inside her a slight flex, causing a loud moan to escape from her. Then he finally relaxed his grip and let her go. It took her a moment to collect herself, still trembling from his intense probing. She knelt down and picked up her sweater off the floor, gently pulling it over her exposed shoulders. 

Lucifer gave her one last smile and walked back over to his desk. He opened one of the side drawers, and removed his gloves, tossing them inside. He then removed a small box from the drawer. It took a moment, but she recognized the box. It contained the red velvet gloves she had bought him for his last birthday. She blushed as she headed over to the small desk that was setup for her to work at. 

“I actually got a lot of the work that was meant for you done already. The items left just need to be typed up using whatever word processor you feel most comfortable to use for today. Tomorrow, I can get you logged into the systems that we enter these forms on.”

“Yes Sir,” was all she could say to him as she booted up the computer to see what she would have to work with. Despite her expectation that it would be a relic, she found it to be up to date with plenty of memory to spare. It even had Devilgram already attached from the profile that she used on her laptop. 

She glanced over to see that Lucifer had settled back behind his paperwork and chanced a moment to open Devilgram. The first post was a picture of Belphie with his head under his pillow. The next one was Levi, with his hands over his headphones and a disgusted look on his face. As she looked at the timestamps, she realized that the brothers all had plenty of time to load their reactions to the way Lucifer was punishing her. 

She let out a low groan as she closed out of the social media platform and opened up the word processor. She opened the top folder and began to type out what was written on the page. It was a proposal from a human witch to summon one of the mid-ranking demons for a full moon ritual. At the bottom of the page, it was stamped ‘Approved’.

“Lucifer, should I include whether the request was approved or not?” she glanced over her shoulder again as she asked this. 

“Yes, my pet, please do.” She could tell by the tone of his voice that he was already fully engaged with whatever paperwork he had left for himself to do. She went back to typing up the requests. 

It was nearly midnight when she had finished the work in the file that Lucifer had left her. It had not taken quite as long as she had feared it might, but that made her no less happy to be done with the work. She saved the last document and then stood to stretch, realizing too late that she was still a bit tender from playing with Lucifer earlier.

“Is there anything else you would like my help with? I could also go make you some coffee if you plan to be up much later.”

Lucifer turned his tired eyes up to her with a slow smile, “I will not be up much later, you should go get ready for bed. Oh, and my pet, don’t forget to take a shower.”

She gave him a small sneer as she left the study. She mumbled under her breath as she stopped by her room for a clean pair of pajamas and her towel to take another shower. She gasped when she saw her reflection in her bedroom mirror. Lucifer had broken his own rules and left two dark hickies on her neck. 

Across campus, Solomon frustratedly slams closed the book he has spent the bulk of the evening studying. “How can there be no prior example of this type of power expression? She is just another human. She’s not special!”

He opens another book. It is an older and even larger volume that he had taken from the library earlier that afternoon. This book contained different testing methods for determining power types and levels. He had been hoping that this would not be necessary. There were a lot of methods for finding out what powers an individual contained, no matter how slight, but it would take weeks to figure out which testing methods would yield the results that he needed to be able to unlock her secrets. This would be compounded by the fact that it would be considered poor taste to take a piece of her hair, or better yet a sample of her blood, for private testing.

The thought of her blood brought a sadistic smile to the sorcerer’s face. The way her blood had flushed her cheeks was still deeply imprinted into his mind. He closed his eyes as he sat back in his studying chair. His age would never show on his body, but it was in these moments that he felt it in his soul. 

She was not a child, nor was she particularly young by human standards. But she may as well have been a baby when compared to his many years. It may have been eternal youth that he had originally sought out, but he could never have foreseen the amount of spirit necessary to live such a long life. Her spirit was warm and invigorating. He could feel it, but he had also noticed its effect in the behaviors of the brothers and demon lord.

As he began to doze off, his mind came back to her blood. He wondered what a vampire would think of her blood. He also found himself wondering how powerful her blood could be as a magical ingredient. This thought brought another smile to the corner of his mouth as he slowly drifted off into a light sleep. 

Open before him, the large tome describes the various types of powers held by the sirens, nymphs, and satyrs of ancient Greek literature. On his DDD, the muted chat with Simeon grows to six messages. He has been avoiding this conversation for a little over a week, but the angel’s foresight was difficult to avoid after allowing him to get so close.

**Barbatos’ Great Secret

He stepped through the door and glanced up at the clock on the wall. He had returned exactly an hour after he had left. Barbatos took a slow deep breath. The air in the main time stream was the clearest, free of convolutions. 

He slowly walked across the room to his closet. With a flick of his hand the wardrobe doors opened and an empty garment bag with a hangar came out to meet him. He took care while removing the uniform, gingerly hanging it on the hanger before him.

Once he had the full uniform hung up, he gave into temptation and embraced the partially zipped bag. A slow inhale confirmed that her scent was still clinging to the uniform. He released the bag and finished zipping it closed. 

These bags already had time-lock enchantments on them. Normally that would keep his garments in a freshly laundered condition. In this case, it would preserve her scent for him. As long as the zipper was not fully zipped down, it would keep the time-lock in effect. It was a high quality time lock, so there would be no backlash for releasing the lock; and he could manually reset the garment, if it came to that, as well.

He held out his hand a few inches from the bag. A small glow came off the underside of his hand. It doesn’t need to be a powerful hex, he thought to himself. Just something to stall anyone that may get any ideas about touching this bag. In addition, it would help him know which bag held this special memory. 

He had more than enough uniforms, so this was a minor loss to him. He sent the bag to the back of his wardrobe with another flick of his wrist. Simultaneously, a fresh new uniform came out to greet him. 

He turned and made his way over to his personal bathroom. His uniform followed, hanging itself on the hook by his vanity. He stepped into the oversized shower and relaxed into his demonic form as the recoil from his trip began to take effect. He used his last bit of strength to turn on the shower. 

Seven high pressure shower heads kicked on like geysers, blasting his body from various angles. He basked in the heat as recoil tore his body apart and reformed him in the main time stream. He was thankful for his master’s discretion in providing him with this shower. He would find out if it truly was all that he had been promised.

The task he had been sent on had taken longer than he originally expected when he had left. Even with what he had known prior to going, he had vastly underestimated what it was going to take. He had never come across this type of anomaly. 

Course correction theory. He had never tried to fight against it, but he had also never seen a single soul that was so bound by the threads of fate. Threads that he himself had even been unable to impact. Now he would face the recoil for having been so brazen.

Reforming within the main time stream left him cold while his powers restored themselves. The violent rounds of recoil left his muscles weakened as well. Each round of recoil reflected one step off from the main stream of time, and Barbatos was in for a very long night. 

Blackness overtook his mind as another cycle of recoil ripped across his body. In the agony, his mind drifted back to the first time he had experienced recoil this badly. The sting of a tear came to his eye at this memory, that event had also been for love. It had not been the love that had stuck with his memory, it was the blood. Waking in a pool of his own blood. 

He coughed and a small blot of pink caught his eye but was immediately swept away by the high pressure of the water that blasted around him. He had been so young, and so full of ambition. It was no surprise now, looking back. It was necessary for that to have happened, for him to fully understand the power that he yielded.

He had done his initial training under a very gifted muse. She had taught him much of what he now used to create comfort for his master and their friends. She had also been the one to truly help him build his powers, because she had recognized his lack of personal creativity as his barrier. She was the first one to teach him to use doors to control his power.

There were so many common visualizations methods for power manifestation, but his power was so specific that it was difficult to find a visualization that could really help him control outcomes from his powers. He had learned to tell the doors what he wanted to change, then his power could take control as he turned the handle. It also allowed him to focus his power and required less work to create portals to the other streams. 

At first it felt awkward to speak out loud to the doors. The only thing that made it bearable was the amazing results that came from the process. She had assured him that as he gained more control over his powers, he would be able to summon portals to any altered reality he could fathom. He no longer needed to use verbal commands, but had chosen to continue to use doors when exercising his powers in memory of her.

She had a light about her that was rarely seen in the Devildom, much like their new exchange student. Perhaps that was what had drawn his attention so acutely to this new anomaly. He had never understood why his muse had chosen to stay in such a dark place, but he had been ever so grateful that she did.

His curiosity had fueled his passion for her. That was what had caused him to rip apart the time stream as he had to try and uncover her secrets. His arrogance was boosted by his growing control over his power. He had thought that the power strain he felt from holding himself outside of the true stream was the worst of what he would face. 

In that instance, he had only spent a handful of years searching time for her answers. He had realized early on that there was something blocking him from whatever incident caused her to have made this choice. As he had moved across the plains, he found himself plagued by a set of rich golden eyes, belonging to a demon he had not known. 

He let out a scream and was brought to his knees as a deep cut of recoil viciously ripped him apart. It had begun to take longer to reform, and streams of light red ran under his body. His cries would radiate within the walls of his bathroom, but would never make it any further. Nevertheless, there was comfort in knowing that his master would never come into his personal space without being specifically invited, regardless of the cries coming from inside.

It had been humbling to be on the opposite side of his conversation that resulted in exchanging the files on their female exchange student. It was necessary to see himself in the state he had existed in prior to knowing her as he did now. He couldn’t bear to tell himself how he had gone about creating the files. Simultaneously, he could not have imagined that he was so naive about how they had come to be created. 

Even after he had told himself exactly when to send Daivolo to check on Lucifer’s progress in making the selection. He hadn’t realized he was doing so with the intent to plant the file that would end up being chosen directly at Lucifer’s feet. It was a bit like abduction, since she hadn’t submitted her own paperwork. But as soon as Lucifer saw the image with her smile, it was destiny that she was going to be selected for the exchange program.

Knowing that this act would inevitably bring love into her life was what had helped him make his final decision. He knew he couldn’t be selfish with her love. Facing that was what had brought him back. He was also interested to see how her heart would chart the courses on the main stream of time. 

The memories he had made on his travels would help give him comfort as he continued through the rounds of recoil. Each round racked him deeper, longer, and more violently than before. He struggled to reform himself but the recoil had begun to slow to a torturously slow grind on him. The streams of red that ran under his body were growing thick. 

He would welcome unconsciousness, if it would come. Though, he knew that it would not. He knew that he would remain fully coherent through the entire episode. This was part of the punishment that was included with the recoil. He felt deserving of the pain, when he considered how deeply he had meddled to create the dream he had created with her. In his mind, she was still worth it.

It was nearly noon the following day before the recoil had stopped it’s violent assault on Barbato’s body. It would be late in the evening before he would have the strength to leave the shower. His master had truly done what he had promised, and the shower stayed hellfired-hot through the entire episode. He was also pleased to see that no traces of his blood remained anywhere in the shower.

He slowly pushed himself up to his feet. Still reveling in the warmth from the shower. He took his time slowly washing over his body. Even after everything he had been through with this episode of recoil, he wanted to make sure that he had completely washed away any traces of her scent on himself. He needed to make sure that every part of his body had been scoured for traces of her. His master was keen, and he would need to ensure that everything still appeared as impartial as possible.

After completing a second round of cleaning, he felt satisfied with the results of his efforts. He checked himself over in the mirrored surfaces that were available to him before finally turning off his shower. He took one last deep, steamy breath before exiting the shower. He walked over to his own vanity and selected his standard body oil for a quick application before dressing in his uniform. 

He faced his mirror and practiced his expressions. This would be the most difficult part of his return. Now that he knew their treasure’s secret, it was vital that he keep it from his master as long as possible. He did not want to lie to Diavolo, but he knew what would happen if he confirmed this report back to him right away. There were a few things that would help to have in place before his master found out what it was that had all of them so enthralled with this one soul in particular.

Once he was pleased with his new muscle memory, he stepped over to the small chair that sat under his tree. He enjoyed the peaceful aesthetic he had created in this space. He had left himself a small treat next to the chair. Though, now it was more of an insult to himself than he could have ever imagined.

He removed the cover from the small apple tart he had made himself after making his master’s the apple pie. He picked up the small plate that held the tart and took a bite. It was one of the most interesting curses he had ever encountered. Benign but poignant; somehow, the taste of apples would never be the same. 

He savored a few more bites from his tart before putting it down and retiring to his bed. He would need to sleep for a long time to fully recover his powers. Once he had done that, he would be able to reset time to the point where he had returned. That would spare him from having to cope with anything that the familiars or his master may have done in his absence. It would also help to mask the fact that he had completed the errand his master wished of him. At this point it would be all too easy to give excuses for why he had not been able to complete the request.

**Lucifer Delivers a Warning to Solomon

She was suddenly awoken by the sound of a scream. She sat up straight in her bed with her heart pounding. She waited to see if there would be any more.

“Help me, somebody, please!” Asmodeus' voice echoed down the hall in a shouting plea.

She leapt out of bed and made her way to the door and down the hall. Asmo’s door was open and he continued to shriek from inside. She came to a sudden halt at the door, attempting to make sense of the scene before her.

Lucifer was holding Asmodeus by his wrists and had him pinned against one of the posts of his bed. Asmo was wriggling helplessly in Lucifer’s grasp as Lucifer remorselessly dug his fingers into the Avatar of Lust’s side. Tears were streaming down Asmo's face as he shrieked with laughter.

Lucifer withdrew his hand from his brother’s side and allowed him to catch his breath. He then pressed his face to the side of his brother’s and whispered softly into his ear. He knew that using a low pillow-talk voice was always a weakness for Asmo.

“Now little brother, are you prepared to tell me what I want to know or will I have to continue?”

Asmodeus caught sight of her standing in his doorway. His eyes were filled with tears and he was desperately trying to get out from Lucifer’s grasp. When he spoke, his words were broken up by gasps for air. 

“Please, help me. Make him stop.”

Lucifer turned to look over his shoulder at her. Once he caught sight of her, his horns extended. She had leapt out of bed in such a hurry, she was only wearing a camisole and sleep shorts. The smile on his face was filled with wicked desire.

“My pet, I do not have time to play with you, though I would much enjoy it. Please leave my brother and I to our discussion. He has full control over how long this discussion lasts.”

She instinctively pulled her hands up to her mouth. Her eyes returned the plea to Asmodeus, but she knew she wouldn’t dare go against Lucifer. She slowly took a step back from the doorway. 

Once she had cleared the doorway, she caught sight of both Levi and Mammon. They were standing next to each other trading blows with a flush in their faces. She furrowed her brow at them, fully aware that they were also acting like this due to her lack of clothing.

She passed Satan, as he was preparing to exit the library. He stopped short and let out an audible gasp as she continued past. As she passed the dining room, just before making it to her own room, she heard Belphie snicker from inside. 

She slammed her door behind herself just as another scream came from Asmo’s room. She took out a pair of stove-pipe pants and one of her coats that came to mid thigh. Lastly, she selected a turtleneck and scarf. 

“If they’re all going to act like that, I’ll make sure they don’t see any skin for the rest of the week,” she frustratedly muttered to herself.

After dressing, she applied a hot pink lip and chocolate strawberry eye. She took a deep breath and looked herself over in the mirror. Despite the screams that continued to come from Asmo, she had been so furiously focused that her makeup came out looking quite stunning. She took the chance to laugh at herself and snapped a few quick selfies to upload to Devilgram as she headed back to the dining area for breakfast.

She was instantly amused by the fact that Mammon and Belphie had made oatmeal for breakfast. She enjoyed the looks of slight disappointment that spread over the brothers as they regarded her excessively modest choice of apparel for the day. 

She decided to take advantage of their overly sour moods to have a little fun. “Honestly Mammon, can’t you do any other cooking besides boiling water?”

As if on queue, Satan, Leviathan, and Belphegor began to laugh. Mammon’s eyes connected with her, as his mouth fell open and he realized what she was implying. He began to stammer as he tried to think of something he had recently cooked that was more advanced. His face began to flush as he tried to think harder but his brothers’ laughter was only making it more difficult.

“Just because I like things that happen to be convenient, doesn’t mean I can’t cook. Lousy human. And hey, it’s not stopping you from eating!”

She smiled at him while she slowly blew over her oatmeal. She had placed a bit of cream and strawberries in with it and was savoring the smell as Mammon continued to cuss her out. Mammon’s complaints did a nice job of drowning out Asmo’s continued cries for help.

“He doesn’t like the ocean, but that’s all I know. I swear to our father!”

Asmodeus’ sides were aflame from his brother’s torturous tickling. True to his word, Lucifer released his brother instantly. Asmo unceremoniously tumbled to the floor, his throat on fire from his unanswered cries for help. Lucifer looked down on his brother as he spoke.

“There, there, now my brother. That wasn’t really so difficult. Though I am not instantly brought any ideas on how to use this information. Nonetheless, prepare yourself for class. If you want to get some breakfast before you leave you have fifteen minutes.” With that he turned on his heel and made to exit his brother’s room.

“You’re a monster!” Asmo hoarsely cried back to him, still sobbing as he clenched his aching sides. 

“If you don’t want any breakfast, you have twenty minutes. Please don’t make me have to punish you for missing class.” 

Lucifer did not turn back to directly address his brother. He actually had no interest in Asmodeus’ choice of attending classes that day or not. He was going to find a way to get to Solomon, and the less Asmo was around that day, the better his chances of success would be.

Asmodeus crawled over to his vanity after slamming his door closed behind Lucifer. He was mortified by what he saw in the reflection. His eyes were swollen and his complexion was blotchy. He decided he didn’t care what punishments Lucifer may have in mind, he couldn't be seen like this. 

He started to look over the items that were strewn across his vanity, plotting the best way to restore his radiant beauty to its normal state of fabulousness. This certainly constituted an emergency and he would need all of his best products. A green tea mask would help to cool the blotchiness in his face while he rested his eyes under a chilled eye mask. He could use his special rose quartz roller to massage his face while he let his eyes rest. He shuffled a few of his best tonics and oils to the front of his spread to make it easier to grab them later. 

He regarded himself in his mirror once more before pulling the eye mask over his aching eyes. He would also need to fix his hair. He almost thought it would be easier to take a fresh bath after he finished his mask. He weighed the benefits back and forth as he slowly massaged his forehead with the quartz roller.

At the end of the corridor leading to the RAD Recreational Center pool Lucifer was hunched behind a column holding one side of the net opposite from Leviathan. Satan was standing alongside them with a small black knapsack in his hands. At the head of the corridor, Beelzebub and Belphegor were waiting. In the distance, they could begin to make out Mammon’s voice coming toward them.

“Yeah, Mammon the great… distraction,” Levi snickered, causing a small laugh from Satan.

Lucifer hissed to them in a low growl as Mammon’s voice began to grow more clear.

“I’m tellin’ ya man. I hid it down here so no one would find it until you could let me know if it’s really the charm I think it is,” Mammon sounded like he was laughing as he talked to Solomon.

“Do you think he even realizes he’s lying, or is it just compulsive at this point?” Satan sneered over to Levi, who couldn’t help but give a slight chortle. 

“I swear on our father, if you blow this, it’ll be the two of you going in this net overnight!” Lucifer’s eyes were aglow with anger as he glared, wide-eyed at his younger brothers. The two of them instantly went silent. Just then they began to hear the footsteps from Mammon and Solomon coming down the corridor.

Mammon continued on, “The shopkeep made it sound like a great deal, and I know that you can, you know, sense magics and stuff like that. So I got to thinking, you’ll be able to tell if it’s the real deal or not. Then when I resell it I know if I need to find a real idiot or if it’s really worth more than what I paid for it.”

Once Mammon and Solomon had gotten about a third of the way down the corridor, Beelzebub began to sneak up from behind. He carried Belphie on his back to minimize their footsteps. Belphie held a gag in his free hand. 

The twins quickly overtook the sorcerer. Beel swept up behind him and took hold of Solomon’s arms, interlocking his fingers at the back of Solomon’s neck. Before Solomon had a chance to utter a counteroffensive spell, Belphegor had him gagged.

Lucifer, Satan, and Leviathan stepped out from behind the column where they had been concealed. Lucifer gave his brother’s a broad smile at their performance. It had come together as perfectly as he planned it to. 

“Satan, head over there and collect his things. Mammon, this is your favorite part, empty his pockets. Anything that isn’t grimm goes in Satan’s bag. Remember, we don’t want to leave him with anything.”

Solomon began to struggle against the twins' confines. He even made an attempt to garble out a spell to halt them, but it was no avail. Mammon made expertly quick work at emptying all his pockets, collecting his DDD and favorite wand with no effort. He patted him down a few times over, finding a book and notebook in the two extra pockets that Solomon had Asmodeus add to his suit coat.

“Very good. Everyone prepare to step back.”

Lucifer and Leviathan opened the net before the sorcerer. As Belphegor released the gag, Beelzebub pushed Solomon into the netting. Leviathan and Lucifer swiftly closed the netting around him as Solomon came crashing down to his knees. Lucifer took the side of netting from Leviathan, scooping Solomon up into the net the rest of the way and tying him inside.

“You’ve all made me quite proud. We’ll discuss the rewards later. Satan, please bring that so we can hang it on the outside of the door. The rest of you are dismissed for the afternoon, no council meeting today.”

Mammon reached up and gave Belphie a high five. Belphie was still perched on Beel’s shoulders and was enjoying the sight of the squirming sorcerer as Lucifer began to drag off their victim. Satan was laughing boisterously as he accompanied his brother.

Just before they reached the door to the pool, Solomon pulled the gag out of his mouth and began to speak. Lucifer stopped and turned to him with an amused smile. 

“Hear me, denizens of the darkness, you who are born of shadow and you who give birth to it. Hear me and do as I command!” 

Just as Solomon completed this part of the spell, a dark crackle fired off inside his mouth, burning his tongue and sending small plumes of smoke out from the corners of his mouth. He brought his hand to his mouth as he cried out in pain. Lucifer laughed as he watched the sorcerer writhe in pain.

“Do you really give us so little credit as to think this was an ordinary net? I had this specially made to rebound magic from those caught within. I needed something after the last time Leviathan summoned Lotan to the house of Lamentation. Though, if I’m being honest, I was hoping to see you try that.”

Mammon, Levi, and the twins had already headed down the corridor and were laughing as they left the recreation center. Lucifer gave a heave and swung the netted Solomon over his shoulder and headed for the back tool closet for the pool. He had already set up a hook where intended to string up the sorcerer for the night.

Solomon continued to shout, despite the burning pain in his mouth, “Lucifer, you can’t do this. Diavolo gave me permission.”

Lucifer stood in the doorway of the closet where he hung the sorcerer, “Solomon, Diavolo has asked you to provide magical instruction to our treasure. He has not given you permission to do anything beyond that with her. Please take this time to consider where the boundaries of that request end.”

“As mentioned, I’ll have all the belongings we took from you hung on the door. You’ll easily be able to recover them once you’re released in the morning. Don’t get excited, the janitor will be around in the morning. We’ve only closed the pool for this evening to do the monthly shock treatments.”

With that having been said, Lucifer slammed the door closed on the sorcerer. He then took the bag from Satan and hung it on the handle. He knew it would give the janitor a fright to find Solomon in the morning. He could hear the muffled shouts from the sorcerer behind the door. 

Lucifer waved his hand over the door, finishing the torture that would drag throughout the night. Satan had given him a spell that caused a slight auditory hallucination. For the next twenty-four hours Solomon would be plagued by the sound of inconsistent dripping. He would hear it coming from different directions, at different volumes, and inconsistent intervals. 

“Satan, for that curse, I’ll buy you any three books you want from Akuzon!” as he said this, he threw his arm around his brother’s neck. Given the value of the offer just made, Satan allowed him to. He already knew which items from his wish list he would be having his brother purchase for him. The two of them left the recreation center together. None of the brothers had noticed Diavolo and Barbatos at a corner table next to the smoothie counter. 

Diavolo laughed as he faced Barbatos, “It really doesn’t matter how often or specifically we warn them, does it?”

“We’ve seen it hundreds of times before, and I don’t need to have future sight to know we’ll see this hundreds of times over again.”

“I knew there had to be a good reason for Lucifer to request that our normal council meeting be cancelled. It looks like he put in a lot of effort into bringing the five of his brothers in on this plan.”

“I must confess, I was surprised that neither Asmodeus nor myself was summoned. Lucifer must be testing the new magic rebound netting that he got.”

“I just adore how unorthodox they manage to use those items sometimes. It is truly a dark inspiration. I told you that bringing her back would bring those seven together again. They’re practically thick as thieves!”

“They do seem to radiate with fresh energy when they have her around, don’t they?”

“I would say this is the start of some interesting activity that we will want to keep our attention on.”

“Yes, Master, I would agree.”

Asmodeus nearly toppled over her as he was coming around a corner at the end of the day. He had made it to class for the afternoon, having decided that he would rather spend the time after classes shopping for something to boost his mood. He had been searching for Solomon after he had been unable to reach him by text. Asmo’s arms reflexively wrapped around her as they collided.

“Oh my! Hello sweetheart! Have you seen my darling Solomon? I’ve been messaging him to come shopping with me but he won’t answer his DDD.”

Asmo continued to hold her tightly, and she let out a small giggle, “I actually have not seen anyone since lunch. You’re the first one I’ve run into, literally.”

Asmo took a moment to enjoy the feel of her in his arms. She had a nice sense for fragrance, but even when she had not worn perfume, her scent was a soft aphrodisiac to him. As he was gazing at her, his eye was drawn to the markings on her neck that were showing along the edge of the turtleneck she had worn. He slid his finger into the neck of her top with a giggle.

“Maybe you should come shopping with me. I’ll treat you to something for those. Goodness, Lucifer really let you have it, didn’t he?”

She averted her eyes with a blush, but gave a nod of acceptance. She was in no hurry to get back to the House of Lamentation after everything that had happened that morning. And after the way she had failed to help Asmo, she felt that he deserved the benefit of her company. It had been quite nice to see the message from Lucifer that the afternoon council meeting was being cancelled.

“If you buy me something special, we can try it out in a bath when we get back. How does that sound to you?” She smiled as she wrapped her arms around Asmo to return the hug that he still had not released her from.

His face lit up as he began to drag her down the hallway, “I already know where we’re going! There’s this new bath shop that has all these exclusive oils. Then we can stop by Mojilsh to see what’s on clearance and what’s new for this season. And I’ll treat you to a light supper at Hell’s Kitchen before we head back! They have this fantastic new blackened scorpion salad with snake venom dressing that I’ve been wanting to try. The reviews are all over Devilgram!”

Her feet barely touched the ground as Asmodeus carried her away. The two of them were laughing as they laid out their plans for the rest of the afternoon. She laughed as Asmo hoisted her up and tossed her over his shoulder. He took out his DDD to see if the Majolish salon had an opening for two.

Solomon was furious with them. Yet, as he struggled in the netting, he was willing to admit that they had genuinely gotten the better of him in this instance. He had made attempts to use bits of trimming from his uniform to cut the netting but it was having no effect. The display earlier had also shown him how bad it could get if he attempted any magic while contained in the netting.

His tongue continued to burn through the night as he fought the netting. He had been hoping to get just comfortable enough to sleep. He could not manage any king of positioning that didn’t make him feel like he was about to fall or rotate.

As the inconsistent dripping persisted through the night he reflexively attempted to dodge drips that sounded particularly close. He felt that he would never know where the next drip was coming from and it left him quite anxious. It was frustrating, as he had been hoping that Lucifer would leave him in silence for the night.

By the time the janitor had found him, Solomon was near tears to see him. His muscles were sore from fighting the netting for balance and from dodging the phantom dripping. He was also quite hungry after having missed supper the night before. 

“Please have that net returned to Lucifer at the House of Lamentation,” he said to the janitor as he made his way out of the pool area. 

His lungs burned from the excessive intake of chlorine that he had gotten overnight. He carried the knapsack over his shoulder as he left the recreation center. He smiled as the cold air from the early morning hit his face. The brothers may have taken all of his items off him, but they had only allowed Mammon to keep the grimm. 

He dug his DDD out of the bag and turned it on. They may be demons, but they had done the courtesy of turning off his DDD. As everything came up the messages from Asmodeus came flooding in, causing his system to stall. As he impatiently clicked on the unresponsive screen, he accidentally opened his chat with Simeon.

He had gotten four messages from the angel last night and he did not know what he was going to say. He decided to leave the conversation as it was. He would try to find a reasonable excuse later in the day. He closed the messenger and opened Devilgram. 

The first image that loaded on his screen was Lucifer’s treasure. Her makeup yesterday had been quite nice. He scrolled down just a bit to see a collection of pictures posted by Asmodeus of the two of them getting facials and spending the evening shopping. The next series of pictures were posted by Mammon, showing her and Asmo laughing as they held up a dress shirt with some obnoxious print on it in front of Lucifer. 

“They didn’t even tell you what they did?” He asked the empty lot as he walked toward his dorm. 

Despite how low they had brought him. They hadn’t taken his special notes. If any of the brothers had taken a closer look at the marked page of his notebook they would have seen the notes he had begun to take on their treasure. He had more than just a training plan ready for her and he was now more intent than ever to find out what caused the power that was contained within her. 

He was still not prepared to believe that she was stronger than he was. He felt it was safer to think that her power only seemed stronger because it was different from his own. Once he had a better understanding of her power, then he could begin to build it. Even though he was only in the beginning phases of figuring out how to classify her, losing the data he had already compiled would put him dreadfully behind. Thankfully, he would not have to worry. The brothers had only taken a few hundred grimm. What his notebook contained was worth far more than that, to all of them.

**Author's Note:**

> I welcome feedback if there are any items that feel unclear.
> 
> Also, please don't hate me for what happened to Barbatos. He is one of my favorites, but I do not plan to incorporate him into the dates that will occur through this fic. If I do some one-off dates with Barbatos, they will likely take place in the alternate time stream that is discussed. 
> 
> In my experiences, when working with time adjustments, it seems like the subject will either have to face recoil or paradox correction. I chose to use recoil, since Barbatos interacts with himself in prior time.


End file.
